When Trivial Ends Meet
by Moonlite Star
Summary: [ABANDONED] Transgenics are auctioned off and rescued, only to be auctioned off again. The sides are blurred as a single transgenic attempts to disrupt Terminal City and Lydecker's plans. After Skin Game.
1. Default Chapter

**A/N**: In truth, I have no idea where this is going. This idea branched off of something that happened in school, haha. Anyways, tell me what you think. I've got some very broad ideas which I hope to put into use, if there is enough interest in this story. ( It takes place...umm after Skin Game, where the conflict in Terminal City is resolved and transgenics are granted citizenship.  
  
** Chapter 1  
**  
"1 million...1 million...do I hear 2?"  
A gentleman nudged his hat, acknowledging his bid.  
"2 million...2 million...do I hear 3 million?"  
The crowd was silent.  
"This young man is merely twenty years of age. He's strong...intelligent...and obedient, just like all the others. I'll throw in this neural transmitter for the next bidder..."  
A man in military attire stepped into the crowd. His dirty blond hair hid his face.  
"2.5 million."  
"Ah...2.5 million going once...twice...and sold to the lovely gentleman."  
"How many more do you have?" the bidder inquired.  
"Stick around and see...Mr.—"  
"Lydecker...Donald Lydecker."  
"Lydecker...do you wish to purchase more?"  
"No...in fact...I'd rather take all."  
Soldiers parted the crowd surrounding the stage. Lydecker approached the auctioneer.  
"I don't understand..." the auctioneer cried, in confusion.  
"It seems quite clear to me. You are illegally selling property of the federal government, which is why we must shut this place down...and take them back..." Lydecker headed backstage. Several nearby soldiers followed him. Several other soldiers escorted the auctioneer into a military convoy.  
Lydecker found himself face to face with two rows of cages, each with an unconscious transgenic. Most were X6s and X8s, he determined, from looking at the barcodes. He walked pass a familiar face. X6-599—the more...obedient replica of X5-599. He gestured to the soldiers behind him to load the cages into the military convoys. A grin crossed his face as he finally caught the transgenics he had so carefully tracked, only to have them disappear from his grasp. Figures—they got caught themselves. I need to find out who found them...and managed to catch them. I could use their help...When the crowd of bidders finally scattered, realizing that Lydecker and his men were the real thing, Lydecker ordered some soldiers to close off the area. The cages were all loaded into the military convoy. Lydecker took one last glance before he boarded the convoy himself. A familiar scent filled the air, yet he couldn't identify what it was...but he knew he had encountered it every time he came close to capturing a transgenic...and failed.  
"Move out!" he bellowed. The soldiers obeyed. "Proceed with caution. We don't want to lose our cargo so soon..."  
And just as he spoke, the convoys went under enemy fire. Lydecker dashed behind several craters, quickly taking out his own gun from their holsters and searching the rooftops frantically for the enemy.  
"Return fire at will!" he commanded. Soldiers dispersed from the convoys when the firing ceased. All prepared for an attack, but had trouble locating their enemy. By the time they did locate their target, it was too late, for another round of bullets took out all the remaining soldiers. Lydecker sighed in defeat. His eyes widened when he realized who it was...  
X5-697 leaped off the roof tops and examined the soldier's bodies, blurring to check each pulse. When everything was clear, he flashed a strong red beam up to the rooftop. Soldiers emerged and boarded the convoys, taking total control of it. 697 surveyed the areas and finally boarded a convoy and left. Lydecker emerged from his hiding spot when he determined it was safe.  
_Damn! What the hell was that?  
_ He called for backup and returned to base glumly. 697 was working with another organization, obviously. Those soldiers were merely ordinary soldiers. But who were they deployed by? Not only had he failed once again, but he lost the transgenics he was inches away from apprehending once again. Unbeknownst to Lydecker, however, was another transgenic on sight...

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"Trevor struck again." Max announced, as she entered the meeting room.  
"Again?" Dix looked disappointed.  
"Auction House. You could say he saved the captured X6s and X8s, but then, it's hard to tell when we don't know who he's working for..." Terminal City's leader announced.  
"Trevor wouldn't hurt them...would he?" Dix questioned. "Not his own kind...right?"  
"After what happened...I'm not so sure anymore..." Max replied.  
"What are you suggesting? Bring him in and question him till he tells us everything?" Mole suddenly suggested.  
"No. Not until we find out more. For all we know, he may not be the only transgenic involved." Max paused and looked at the missing chair. "Where's Alec?"  
"Down at the bar...checkin' out the new chicks." Mole grinned almost dumbly, but caught himself.  
Max rolled her eyes. "Someone's in for missing this meeting...Anyways; I wasn't the only one there. Lydecker was there." Everyone flinched.  
"Alive and walking. Can't kill 'im after all." Mole said in disgust.  
"He will never cease to amaze me." Max retorted.  
"So, what do we do now?" Dix asked.  
"Well, I'm going to have Logan try and track the convoys. Once he does that, we'll go from there. How are the citizens getting along?"  
"Well, that new group of transgenics that came in the other day have kept to themselves. They're not all that social. Maybe you should give them a warn welcome." Dix suggested.  
Max sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Sounds fine by me. What will you two be doing while I'm entertaining the new arrivals?"  
Mole tapped his foot impatiently. "Nothing."  
Max raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Nothing? Since when have either of you—since when has any transgenic been able to sit around and do nothing? You two are horrible liars."  
Dix hid a grin. "Now why would we lie to you Max?"  
Max smiled. "Why, I have absolutely no clue. There aren't any birthdays coming up are there?"  
And with that, she walked out, leaving the two transgenics stupefied. How did she know? 

--------------------------------------------------

"I want new information. Not something I already know!" Lydecker threw the manila folder back to the tech.  
"Colonel, we're doing the best we can. After the raid last month, a lot of information concerning the escaped transgenics was lost."  
Lydecker obviously was trying extremely hard to control his temper. "TRY HARDER."  
"Will do, sir." The tech rushed off and reported the news to his co- workers.  
Lydecker sat down in his chair, reviewing the events once again in his mind. He grumbled when a rather loud phone call interrupted his thoughts.  
"Colonel..."  
Lydecker's eyes lit up in surprise. "697...to what do I owe the honor of this call?"  
Lydecker immediately called for a tech to begin tracing the line.  
"Colonel...you know me better than that. You can't trace this line, no matter how hard you try. You didn't train us to be stupid."  
Lydecker allowed the techs to return to their research.  
"Now what would make you think I'm tracing your call?"  
"Shouldn't you know? You're the one who taught us to study our opponents and to analyze our friends, just in case they'd turn on us. You were quite a teacher, if I do say so myself."  
Lydecker felt uneasy with this onset of flattery. "Why did you call? What do you want?"  
"Impatient, as always. I know you were there Colonel."  
"There? Where?"  
"Don't play games...you know what I'm talking about. You saw me. I saw you." There was laughter. "You should have seen yourself, cowering behind the boxes."  
Lydecker frowned. "What has happened to you 697?"  
"Happened to me? I've become a better person, wouldn't you agree? We'll be meeting again, and when we do, who knows which side the tides will turn..."  
The line went dead.  
"Dammit." Lydecker threw the phone down, anger building up. "I need that information soon, or you'll all be facing a decrease in your salary!" 

------------------------------------

After Max phoned Logan and gave him the details concerning the convoys, she headed down the bar, where she quietly approached Alec and whacked him on the head. "Somebody was absent at our important council meeting."  
Alec looked hurt. "You know, Max, people usually say 'hi' when they're trying to greet someone, not a slap on the head."  
"Well, we're not exactly people then, huh?" Max ordered a glass of beer and began chugging it down. "So what's your excuse?"  
"Excuse? Oh...right." Alec quickly thought of something—anything. "I was greeting the new arrivals and showing them the way around."  
Max smirked. "Seems to me like you were trying to get to know them very well."  
"...Dix and Mole need to learn to keep their mouths shut." Max only chuckled lightly. "Find out what you miss from Dix and Mole. I intend on greeting the new arrivals myself. Don't miss the next meeting, or else I'll kick you off our advisory board."  
"You know, I've lost count of how many times you've said that by now..."  
Max gave him a threatening look and Alec decided now would not be the best time. He shrugged and headed to find Dix and Mole.  
Just as Max was about to find the new arrivals, her cell phone rang. "Y'ello. Max here."  
"Hello 452..."  
Max flinched at the use of her designation. "Trevor, is that you?" She went to find a place to sit. She certainly hadn't been expecting a call from Trevor..."Trevor, you've got to stop what you're doing..."  
"Don't tell me what I can and can't do 452. You know just as well as I that if I hadn't stepped in, those X6s and X8s would have been back in Manticore by now. I saved them."  
"Maybe you did, but you spilt more blood in the process. Where are they?"  
"They're...returning a favor to me."  
"What do you mean by 'a favor'?"  
"None of your business 452."  
"The name's Max." Max justified through gritted teeth.  
"You're nothing 452. You will never be anything. Nothing. Dirt."  
"Trevor, what has happened to you? You were so...different."  
"Quiet, you mean? Shy? Passive? That was the weak me. Now I am stronger, better. No one can stop me."  
"People can and will stop you Trevor. I will stop you if the need requires. Tell me...where are they, those you supposedly saved?"  
"I can't tell you 452." Max could hear the taunting laughter in his voice, pulling the strings that held her patience together.  
"Then why are you calling me?"  
"To let you know...that we will meet again...and that I am no longer that weakling you once knew as Trevor. I am 697, you're worst nightmare."  
The line went dead. Max released a heavy sigh, trying to interpret what had just happened. She decided to see if Mole could trace it. The new arrivals can wait... 

**A/N2:** Wow, new features on fanfiction.net. I still hate all this formatting stuff. If you've got any pointers, please let me know. I keep saving it as a web page but the formatting still never shows up when I upload it. Guess I should be thankful there's a Quick Edit now...saves me some trouble...


	2. Rebirth

**Chapter 2: Rebirth**

**A Year Ago**

697 raced out of Manticore, with 321 close behind him. 744 and 873 were close behind them. 697 was their CO, and 321 their second in command. They had lost several more in their unit as the buildings began collapsing. Others had been away on missions or in other parts of Manticore when the attack began.

"You think Manticore really was attacked?" 744 asked.

"Of course," 697 replied confidently.

"Why would they lock us in then?" 873 inquired.

"Maybe they didn't have anyone to man the controls to unlock us," 697 reassured.

"Don't you think they would have known that we would be able to defend Manticore best?" 321 questioned.

"321, you're getting on my nerves. Let's just get out of here."

321 said nothing, but his eyes spoke for him, not that 697 noticed. 697 had always been shy and quiet. Most of the X5s thought he was simply anti-social. But all that changed when they returned from a mission a month before Manticore went down in flames, and their former CO, 158, died.

The four transgenics didn't stop until they reached Seattle that night. It would allow them to blend in and find shelter, which was better than hanging in the woods. The unit had already been on several missions outside of Manticore, so blending in was second nature. They found an abandoned flat in the outskirts of Seattle and rested there for the night. The next morning, 321 awoke and headed out. He had no desire to stick with 697.

"Where are you going 321?"

"Somewhere besides here."

"You're leaving us?"

"Yeah."

"You can't do that, we're a unit."

"There's four of us. How's that a unit?"

"321, I forbid that you leave. As your CO, I am ordering that you remain here as my Second."

"Shove it, 697. We ceased being a unit when you took over. You'll never be my CO. I only went along with this facade of yours because of what happened, but we're not at Manticore anymore. It doesn't matter now what you know. They can't do anything to me." 321 turned is back on 697, only to stumble forward when 697 elbowed him in the head.

"What the fuck was that for?" 321 asked angrily. "You think you can take me?"

"Bring it."

321 laughed. "697, everyone knows I was meant to succeed 158 as our unit's CO. We were nearly equally matched. You're a crappy leader 697. You didn't know what you got yourself into when you decided to be hero now and impress Manticore, did you?"

697 lashed out at 321 in anger, but 321 easily blocked his attacks. Emotions made you weak. Manticore had taught them that, and 321 took that to heart. It made everything easier for him, especially during those solo missions.

The fight ended quickly when 321 pinned 697 down. "Stay away from me 697, if you know what's good for you." 321 slowly released 697 and walked away. A leader was only as strong as his followers. 697 would not last.

**Present Time**

Lydecker's phone rang, signally an incoming phone call.

"Lydecker."

"How's our infantry?"

"It's coming along. The ranks are filling up again."

"How many?"

"We've brought back around a quarter."

"I've been hearing reports that you've lost some."

"There have been some...complications, but it will be under control soon."

"Good. I'll look forward to reading your report then."

"Yes, sir," Lydecker replied, ending the call.

He sighed as he looked down at the papers before him. All of them were titled "The Phoenix Initiative", followed by a description of this new project the Committee had taken on. Lydecker had initially refused, but then they made him an offer he couldn't resist – not only would they pay him more generously than before, but they also had the name of his wife's murderer. So he took the project, and now he was in charge of rebuilding Manticore, but with a new mission and objective, as well as a new approach. Now that the transgenics were free and recognized by the public, they would have to do things differently.

---

After Max met the new arrivals, she headed back to the command center. When the siege at Terminal City ended, several more transgenics showed up. It seemed unlikely that Terminal City would cease to become a city at the rate things were going. All she wanted was her old life back. She never asked to be the leader, and yet, they all were looking up to her to run this place.

"Any luck on that trace?" she asked.

"Sorry Max. 697 knows what he's doing...he was one of us," Dix replied.

"I wouldn't expect less. Any other news then?"

"More new arrivals."

"More? Where does everyone come from? How many?"

"1 X6s, 2 X5s, 1 X7, 3 X8s."

Max sighed. "We need to start thinking of how we can integrate our people into society. We can't survive in here forever."

"Speak for yourself," Mole muttered, coming up behind them.

Max turned to face Mole. "Our supplies will run out if we keep everyone here.

"So we'll get more."

"By robbing the Ordinatires and risking another bit of negative media?"

"We have to get things from somewhere," Mole said dismissively.

"The people there already hate us. We start stealing from them, they're going to notice. All they're going to remember then is that we used our abilities to our advantage instead of working hard like normal people. They'll hate us even more then, and who knows what kind of situation we'll have when that happens."

"We were made with these abilities for a reason. Might as well put them to use."

"The public may hate us, but a lot of us have skills that can be used for the greater good. If we can find jobs and become part of society, then we should. But if you want to live your life in this toxic dump, then be my guess."

Mole grunted something barely audible and left the room.

Dix was back to watching the security feeds. "You know Max, I think you may have just gotten to him."

"Mole?" she laughed a little. "Yeah right."

"You have a good point though. There's only so many more supply runs we'll be able to run without attracting attention. At the rate our city's growing, we don't have that many runs left."

"I'll call a meeting tomorrow morning and we'll discuss what can be done about it with everyone here. I'm off for the rest of the night though. Now that the siege is over, I have some friends to visit,"

"No worries. We can handle it for a night."

"You know, you really could use a life of your own, Dix."

Dix shrugged. "I like what I do."

Max smiled and went to Crash to meet up with everyone.

What she didn't expect, however, was to find Trevor there, waiting for her.

**A/N:** This is a trial chapter. I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this story, as I'm planning on starting a new Manticore fic soon. And I still have two other stories of mine that I intend on bringing to a finish (Then and Now, Disasters in Science). I'll see how the reviews go, so please review if you think this storyline is interesting. Also look out for a new fic centered around Manticore. It will take place after AJBAC. Obviously an AU. Max is given the role of a CO to prevent escape, but her unit is far from approving of the Director's decision. I don't know if I'll have any particular pairings yet. Anyway, thanks to regan for reviewing last chapter - if you're reading this, there is definitely going to be more Max/Lydecker interaction in the upcoming chapters (permitting this story continues). Thanks for reading everyone!


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